When Church Became Theatre

In late 19th century America, profound socio-economic and technological changes contributed to the rejection of traditional church architecture and the development of a radically new worship building, the neo-medieval auditorium church. These Protestant churches contained extraordinary new auxiliary spaces, including kitchens, dining rooms, and lounges. Their real showpieces, however, were always the sanctuaries, radial-plan auditoria best described as 'theatres', with their elaborate pulpit stages, sloping floors, and curving pews. Many contained proscenium arches, marquee lighting, and theatre seats. Jeanne Halgren Kilde focuses on how the buildings helped to negotiate supernatural, social, and personal power. Their extraordinary interiors, she says, profoundly altered religious power relations. Borrowed directly from the architecture of the theatre, these worship spaces underscored performative and entertainment aspects of the worship service. By erecting these buildings, argues Kilde, middle class religious audiences demonstrated the move toward a consumer-oriented model of a religious participation that gave them unprecedented influence over the worship experience and church mission.